For the style-conscious, owning a wood watch is no longer good enough. There are lots of cheap looking wood watches that look like Playskool toy watches we buy for our kids. Or, some wood watches made look like something Fred Flintstone would wear.

If you are considering buying a wood watch, be sure that the company making the watch has a wide variety of styles. If the company has less than 10 different styles, then it is not a serious timepiece maker. Their products cannot be guaranteed to work.

Look for exotic woods, more than simply sandalwood. Almost all the wood watches these days are made from sandalwood. The most desirable wood is Koa, which grows only in Hawaii. This beautiful wood has luminous dark brown and red grain patterns. Other hardwoods used with wood watches are Mahogany, Rosewood and Bamboo. These alternative woods are not grown in America, so there may be wide variation to the color and density of these other woods.

Look for a wood watch with innovative design. The shape of the watch should be fit comfortably on your wrist. The wood links on the watch should feel comfortable – almost like you are not even wearing the watch. Today, the most innovative wood watches have interesting designs such as mother of pearl faces. The iridescence of the face catches light in different colors.

Other innovative wood watch designs are made with multi-function dials including moon phase. The Martin & MacArthur Moon Phase wood watch lets you keep track of the changing moon each month.

Stay clear of wood watches that are simply veneer on metal. There are some companies that claim to have Koa watches but they are simply metal watches made in China with thin veneer down the middle. Stay away from veneer watches. Don’t settle for metal when you can have a solid wood watch.

But, the best wood watch is now self-winding and automatic. There is only once company that makes a self-winding wood watch – Martin & MacArthur. This automatic wood watch has a 21-jewel movement that winds with the movement of the wrist. It has a see-through skeleton face to let you watch the inner movement of the watch.

Be smart when you buy a wood watch. Choose innovative designs made with exotic woods like Koa.

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Written by Michael Tam, who collects beautiful wood watches as a hobby. His current collection numbers over 15 different wood watch styles, many from renowned maker Martin & MacArthur.